What do you think?
Rate this book
The Unexpected Waltz
From the author of the critically acclaimed debut Love in Mid Air comes this moving novel about a middle-aged widow who finds her feet by embracing a new hobby: ballroom dancing.
Kelly Wilder becomes recently widowed from a much older wealthy man with whom she spent her married life doing charity work, building a lovely home, and, as she says, “pretending to be a whole lot more conservative and stupid and nicer than I really am.”
Now, with too much time and money on her hands, Kelly has absolutely no idea what happens next. So on a whim she signs up for a ballroom dancing class, and slowly, step by high-heeled step, begins to rebuild her life with the help of friends old and new: Nik, a young Russian dance teacher who sees the artistic potential she left behind; Carolina, a woman in hospice, anxious to experience a whole lifetime in a few months; and Elyse, Kelly’s girlhood best friend who knows all of her past secrets—including the truth about the man who long ago broke Kelly’s heart.
In the vein of Jennifer Weiner's novels, Unexpected Waltz is a deeply felt story about moving on after loss and finding a new walk—or dance—of life through the power of second chances.
Kelly Wilder becomes recently widowed from a much older wealthy man with whom she spent her married life doing charity work, building a lovely home, and, as she says, “pretending to be a whole lot more conservative and stupid and nicer than I really am.”
Now, with too much time and money on her hands, Kelly has absolutely no idea what happens next. So on a whim she signs up for a ballroom dancing class, and slowly, step by high-heeled step, begins to rebuild her life with the help of friends old and new: Nik, a young Russian dance teacher who sees the artistic potential she left behind; Carolina, a woman in hospice, anxious to experience a whole lifetime in a few months; and Elyse, Kelly’s girlhood best friend who knows all of her past secrets—including the truth about the man who long ago broke Kelly’s heart.
In the vein of Jennifer Weiner's novels, Unexpected Waltz is a deeply felt story about moving on after loss and finding a new walk—or dance—of life through the power of second chances.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 2014
33 people are currently reading
2032 people want to read
About the author
Kim Wright
16 books253 followersWhen I was a kid I was so obsessed with books I used to check out four at a time from the library - that was the limit in the small NC town where I was raised - then walk down the street, sit under a tree, and read them as fast a I could so I could go back to get four more.
Now I am the author of Love in Mid Air, The Unexpected Waltz, The Canterbury Sisters, and the most recent, Last Ride to Graceland, all published by Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon and Schuster.
I also write the City of Mystery series which includes City of Darkness, City of Light, City of Silence, City of Bells, City of Stone, and the Christmas-themed novella, The Angel of Hever Castle. This series is set in the Victorian era and deals with another of my obsessions, the founding of the first forensics unit in Scotland Yard. My chief detective, Trevor Welles, struggles to be a modern man in an antiquated system.
I am the mother of two grown children and recently became a grandmother for the first time. (I highly recommend it!) My hobbies include ballroom dance, travel, and dogs.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 197 reviews
February 5, 2015
“The Unexpected Waltz” is book candy for women over 50. It’s comforting to see chic-lit for the over 50 crowd. It’s a fun read about a widow who wants to redefine herself. If the reader were involved in Ballroom dance, this book would be particularly interesting. Yes, the protagonist finds herself through Ballroom Dance, or more particularly, competitive Ballroom Dance. For me, the redeeming factor of this book is the “inside look” into competitive Ballroom Dance. I had NO idea there are people out there competing in Ballroom dance. The author, Kim Wright, competes so this reader assumes all the little dance nuances are true. If you want your brain to relax and get a kick out of the innermost happenings of competitive Ballroom dance, then this is your book. You never know, you may decide to look for classes in your area!
September 6, 2016
A widow who married "the safe man" attempts to reinvent her life by taking dance lessons. While I loved the idea of someone trying something new, and assessing her life and relationships, I dislike books where the main character has all the money in the world to do whatever she wants.
February 28, 2015
I was lucky enough to win this author give away through one of my goodreads book groups!!
I thought this book sounded good but I didn't realize I would just love it.
I love the characters, well most of them, there are a few jerks in it of course :-)
As it says on the back of book, Kelly is a 52-year-old widow. She had a rich husband that she's not sure she loved at all. He certainly set her up nicely which is a dream in the story itself!!
But Kelly has been laying around the house for a year grieving. She decides to run out and get some food to make for dinner and through some circumstances she ends up in a ballroom dancing studio. She signs up and off we go on a whirlwind of new friends, drama, competitions and life in general.
She has a best friend she has known since they were young. She moved away with her daughter and husband but she is very much still in the picture. They call each other and have dinner together on the phone and just chat about everything. She is sooooo lucky! I would give anything to have a friend from childhood for the rest of my life!!
Kelly also volunteers at hospice. She sits with patients, talks, reads, watches movies, basically whatever they want. This is where she meets Carolina. She is wonderful. She's not in the book too much but when she is, it is all bitter sweet. I don't want to give too much away.
This book has a wonderful cast of characters and is a great novel on the story of life. I love these kinds of stories.
I hope to read more from this author in the future.
I thought this book sounded good but I didn't realize I would just love it.
I love the characters, well most of them, there are a few jerks in it of course :-)
As it says on the back of book, Kelly is a 52-year-old widow. She had a rich husband that she's not sure she loved at all. He certainly set her up nicely which is a dream in the story itself!!
But Kelly has been laying around the house for a year grieving. She decides to run out and get some food to make for dinner and through some circumstances she ends up in a ballroom dancing studio. She signs up and off we go on a whirlwind of new friends, drama, competitions and life in general.
She has a best friend she has known since they were young. She moved away with her daughter and husband but she is very much still in the picture. They call each other and have dinner together on the phone and just chat about everything. She is sooooo lucky! I would give anything to have a friend from childhood for the rest of my life!!
Kelly also volunteers at hospice. She sits with patients, talks, reads, watches movies, basically whatever they want. This is where she meets Carolina. She is wonderful. She's not in the book too much but when she is, it is all bitter sweet. I don't want to give too much away.
This book has a wonderful cast of characters and is a great novel on the story of life. I love these kinds of stories.
I hope to read more from this author in the future.
August 24, 2017
I really enjoyed this book. I liked 52-year-old Kelly who is trying to survive after her husband has died a year ago. She has no direction, she has a big house and really has no purpose as she has no job. She stumbles into a dance studio owned and operated by three Russians and she decides to take a dance lesson. That lesson turns into another one and another one and next thing she knows she is sucked into the place. She is also a hospice volunteer and meets Carolina who is a firecracker even though she shouldn't live long.
As a 50-year-old who has had breast cancer and a boss who recently died in hospice, I really related to this story, except I'm not rich and my husband is alive. I felt I could understand more of what was going on with Kelly. My husband is alive but he works WAY long hours and my daughter is an adult and has her own life so I'm on my own a lot. So how do you fill your time?
I really liked the different characters in the book and how even though they are all from different backgrounds and personalities, they really became friends and a family.
Very wonderfully written and really enjoyable. I would really recommend this book.
I won this book on Goodreads.
As a 50-year-old who has had breast cancer and a boss who recently died in hospice, I really related to this story, except I'm not rich and my husband is alive. I felt I could understand more of what was going on with Kelly. My husband is alive but he works WAY long hours and my daughter is an adult and has her own life so I'm on my own a lot. So how do you fill your time?
I really liked the different characters in the book and how even though they are all from different backgrounds and personalities, they really became friends and a family.
Very wonderfully written and really enjoyable. I would really recommend this book.
I won this book on Goodreads.
August 6, 2016
In The Unexpected Waltz recently-widowed Kelly Madison finds herself questioning the value of the small life she has lived so far. With some accidental help from a local ballroom dance studio, she begins a long-delayed journey to self-awareness, personal growth and a purpose-filled life. Along the way she connects deeply to a hospice patient she has met through her volunteer work, while also finding herself growing closer to her teachers and fellow dancers at the dance studio. With a dance-as-metaphor-for-life theme, The Unexpected Waltz is an addictive, realistic and hopeful Southern-flavored read filled with rhythmic, flowing writing, bringing to mind the work of Mary Kay Andrews and Fannie Flagg. As The Unexpected Waltz wittily considers life, death and modern marriage, readers will relate to and care about Kelly Madison. Perfect for fans of thoughtful, well-written womens fiction, and also "Dancing With the Stars." Enthusiastically recommended.
May 16, 2016
I just finished The Unexpected Waltz and sadly I was disappointed. Nearly 300 pages of "so what?" for me. The main character, Kelly Madison, is widowed, losing her much older and very wealthy husband a year ago. Living the life of a gilded bird, she takes a 30-min trial session in ballroom dancing on a whim and keeps going back for more. She becomes what in dance studio parlance is a "whale," a wealthy benefactor of sorts, a person who takes so many classes that their fees are what keeps the studio financial solvent. Kelly discovers that Pamela, who is romantically involved with Nik, a younger man and Kelly's instructor, is the Head Whale in Charge at the studio and Kelly is immediately jealous. The feeling is mutual.
These two women are cut from the same mold: two very pretty women who nabbed very rich and much older men as husbands. The author portrays these women as having a natural dislike for each other based on this shared lifestyle and I found it sad that Kelly is noticing the size of Pamela's house and the age of her kids as some form of mental gamesmanship to show who is the better trophy wife. It's the clash of two mean girls and it's really unbecoming.
For nearly 300 pages, this book is about what's lacking. A one-time pretty girl, an "easy" girl, bemoaning how at 52 she's not as pretty any more. A grown woman still caught up on a man she had a three-year affair with (pre-marriage) two decades ago, one who literally left her with no panties on in the men's room of a gas station. This is the great love who got away? A woman (who with her husband) gave large sums of money to the only child of the woman's best friend, oblivious to the inappropriateness of such lavish gifts to a child that is not your own. A woman who sings the praises of her new friends at the dance studio but never invites them to her house lest they see how rich she is. And a woman who sizes everyone up as a competitor first and a possible friend, well, never.
What irked me so much about this book are threefold: 1) Kelly volunteers at a hospice center, grim work by all accounts, and has a young woman as one of her clients, yet we read so little about this woman and their interaction. I was expecting that Carolina would be more drawn out and in it Kelly would develop some depth. Lessons on life and death, sage advice from the young to the old(er) and vice versa. Instead, nope. No dice. Never happened. 2) The overall lack of depth in Kelly from beginning to end. In the name of all that is holy, please don't let me get to 52 and lack self-awareness as much as this woman. The book is weighed down considerably with all the internal dialogue, observations and general musings but it all feels like a lot of threads that don't lead anywhere. Kelly had been married for 20 years before Mark died and once the fog lifts, she doesn't appear to have experienced any kind of awakening. 52 is not old but this woman acts like the Grim Reaper is tapping his scythe on her door every night. The perk of getting older is you're not the moron you were when you were younger. You get "it" now. With all that life in her rearview mirror, Kelly was still nostalgic for her teens and 20s, which is such a tragedy. And 3) we never fully see Mark, the dead husband. This character was never fully fleshed out. That could be said for all of the characters, but for someone who gave Kelly respectability after being known as the office easy girl by marrying her, who this man is remains a mystery. Kelly says she didn't marry Mark for his money and she doesn't think he married her because of her looks but it's never established why he DID marry her and if she even misses him.
Based on the title, the reader can correctly determine that ballroom dancing is practically another character in this book. What the author doesn't do, again, is really show you why. There's tons about the studio and the people in it and the types of dances they're doing and so forth but I never got why this was the activity that clicked for Kelly nor did I feel like it was filling some other void in her life either. We never really see how this went from a hobby to a passion. What makes a person take dance classes five and six times a week? Oh, she enjoys it but I needed the author to show me instead of tell me.
This book gets a meh from me.
These two women are cut from the same mold: two very pretty women who nabbed very rich and much older men as husbands. The author portrays these women as having a natural dislike for each other based on this shared lifestyle and I found it sad that Kelly is noticing the size of Pamela's house and the age of her kids as some form of mental gamesmanship to show who is the better trophy wife. It's the clash of two mean girls and it's really unbecoming.
For nearly 300 pages, this book is about what's lacking. A one-time pretty girl, an "easy" girl, bemoaning how at 52 she's not as pretty any more. A grown woman still caught up on a man she had a three-year affair with (pre-marriage) two decades ago, one who literally left her with no panties on in the men's room of a gas station. This is the great love who got away? A woman (who with her husband) gave large sums of money to the only child of the woman's best friend, oblivious to the inappropriateness of such lavish gifts to a child that is not your own. A woman who sings the praises of her new friends at the dance studio but never invites them to her house lest they see how rich she is. And a woman who sizes everyone up as a competitor first and a possible friend, well, never.
What irked me so much about this book are threefold: 1) Kelly volunteers at a hospice center, grim work by all accounts, and has a young woman as one of her clients, yet we read so little about this woman and their interaction. I was expecting that Carolina would be more drawn out and in it Kelly would develop some depth. Lessons on life and death, sage advice from the young to the old(er) and vice versa. Instead, nope. No dice. Never happened. 2) The overall lack of depth in Kelly from beginning to end. In the name of all that is holy, please don't let me get to 52 and lack self-awareness as much as this woman. The book is weighed down considerably with all the internal dialogue, observations and general musings but it all feels like a lot of threads that don't lead anywhere. Kelly had been married for 20 years before Mark died and once the fog lifts, she doesn't appear to have experienced any kind of awakening. 52 is not old but this woman acts like the Grim Reaper is tapping his scythe on her door every night. The perk of getting older is you're not the moron you were when you were younger. You get "it" now. With all that life in her rearview mirror, Kelly was still nostalgic for her teens and 20s, which is such a tragedy. And 3) we never fully see Mark, the dead husband. This character was never fully fleshed out. That could be said for all of the characters, but for someone who gave Kelly respectability after being known as the office easy girl by marrying her, who this man is remains a mystery. Kelly says she didn't marry Mark for his money and she doesn't think he married her because of her looks but it's never established why he DID marry her and if she even misses him.
Based on the title, the reader can correctly determine that ballroom dancing is practically another character in this book. What the author doesn't do, again, is really show you why. There's tons about the studio and the people in it and the types of dances they're doing and so forth but I never got why this was the activity that clicked for Kelly nor did I feel like it was filling some other void in her life either. We never really see how this went from a hobby to a passion. What makes a person take dance classes five and six times a week? Oh, she enjoys it but I needed the author to show me instead of tell me.
This book gets a meh from me.
October 18, 2017
I loved this book. It was a wonderful story and the main character was wonderful, very easy to relate to and so real. This is a story about a woman who finds herself after her husband dies and she has wonderful friends and helps a lot of people. If you want an uplifting book, this is it. It's a feel good book all the way through, even with the loss of the husband because you don't really get to know him, it's what happens after he's gone.
April 15, 2022
I really enjoyed the audio of this. It was an unexpected delight :)
April 19, 2022
After caring for her husband in hospice, Kelly becomes a 52 year old widow. full of regrets, The first year, she spent not changing a thing. With more time and money than she knows what to do with , she impulsively signs up for ballroom dance with a Russian dance instructor. She also goes back to Hospice to volunteer and meets a spirited young mother Carolina eager to make the most out of every moment she has. Between Carolina ,her long time best friend Elyse and the dance classes, Kelly faces truths about her life, learns to embrace life and forms her new found unorthodox family in unexpected ways.
+ loved all the dance references!!!
+ trie to life descriptions of living with a loved in hospice and volunteering following the other person’s lead- kind of like dance
+ 50+ year old characters as elegant, strong. Graceful
+ forming family with deep bonds beyond romantic attachments
+ beautiful cover photo of dancers’ feet
Best quote: “you have to lose your balance in order to find it.” 272
1st book “love in mid air” about Elyse & infidelity
Quotes:
13 this is embarrassing but I accidentally stole an apple from the grocery store next-door and I was trying to get back to pay when my phone rang and I looked down and I ended up here. It sounds even stupider when I say it out loud.
Quinn nods Quinn nights again with the same annoying yoga girl exaggerativecalm. So you don’t want to dance?
Well of course I do. Everyone wants to dance. I mean, someday I want to dance but right now I just am trying to pay for my Apple. Coming in here was an accident.
You know, Quinn says tilting her head, I’ve never believed in accidents. So you’re here for the first introductory lesson.
Evidently
15-16 about dance shoes: The higher the heels, the better you’ll move. No really, I swear. It’s like you have to deliberately get yourself off balance before you learned how to balance. I know it doesn’t make any sense, but trust me.
What dance is this – foxtrot? Walls? Or just an elaborate sort of shuffle he’s made up to accommodate a woman clearly old enough to be his grandmother? Yet. Period. There’s a heartbreaking kindness in the way he dances with her. He deliberately reigns himself in, downplaying his youth and strength, and he turns her gently again and again, as if he is showing her off to an imaginary crowd. She is barely moving but he has managed to make her come alive. Everything about the woman is absurd. There are some ears of turquoise on her eyelids and even from a distance I can tell she dipped a shaky finger into a pot and splashed the color on like war paint. Some Grand Am unaware that time has passed by. But this man is completely focused on this woman. He sees her. Most men do not look at aging women. I know this because in the last five years I have begun to fade from the eyes of men. And yet this particular man, young and strong as he is, sees this particular woman. He swirls and bowels and pivots around her, honoring the space she occupies. And when she finally turns back to me, I can see she is radiant with joy.
19 personally I blame Cinderella or maybe Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. Between those two, there isn’t a woman alive in America today who doesn’t think her whole life would be transformed if she could just find the right pair of shoes.
21 Her lawyer friend Elyse: have you ever noticed how when you lose one thing, your mind kind of circles back to everything else you ever lost? You break up with a guy and boom, it’s like all the guys you ever broke up with suddenly pull in the your driveway and get out of the same car. Or you walk into a funeral home and you remember every other time you’ve been there and the next time you know, five funerals are going down at once. You start crying and you don’t even know why, and people say what’s wrong? And you say nothing, but you still keep crying. So I’m just saying that Lewis and Mark might be like losing Daniel all over again.
22 The dance studio. Period. It was so tacky, at least. All silver and blue and sparkly it over the top. It was like you took everything that’s me and created the opposite. I think I’ve gone and done something stupid.
“Well thank God,” Elyse says, “it’s about time.”
101 Dance teacher Quinn: “ you’re in the zone where people learn. When you’re uncomfortable with what you’re doing but not so uncomfortable that you can’t move at all. We call it optimal frustration.”
About Dance: Nick never tells anyone she’s good. I doubt he would even apply the word to the pros, because he knows dance is a slippery summit. So you work on that for a week but by then you lost the foxtrot. And there is always somebody younger, stronger, and prettier nipping at your heels. I suppose that’s what makes dance addictive. Your deer that you’re moving towards something but never quite arriving. The truth is costing all of us different things.
116 it’s scary to think that I might want something that Mike’s money can’t buy any, something that being the pretty girl won’t help me get either. Scary to want something that I can only give myself.
I want this and no one else can give it to me. But, it occurs to me that if you want something that no one else can give you, then no one else can take it away from me either, and there’s a certain comfort in that. I’m going to figure out a way to stand tall and give Nick the sort of frame he’s asking you for.
144 A lot of things become clear to me as I watch the competition, in fact, most because everything nicks ever said is being acted out before my eyes. He’s always telling me to put power in my step from the start. This goes against my natural inclination, and probably everyone’s natural inclination. When some thing is new and you’re uncertain, do you want to keep it controlled and careful, at least until you’re sure you’ve memorized the sequence. Nick won’t let me do that this. He says things like we are go across the room and five steps without telling me what those five steps are going to be. And when I beg him to let me learn the routine before I put in the power, he shakes his head. Power first, then finesse. If you don’t have the energy from the start, then it’s hard to put it in later. By that time you’re proud of the pretty little steps. You don’t want to mess them up or change something it seems to be working and so you stay small and now here before me all over this ballroom I can tell C the truth what he’s been saying. People who started out careful and never figured out how to get bigger. The form is correct. Your timing is accurate. They don’t make any obvious mistakes. They are trying hard not to come in last. But they are actually dancing.
154 in the walls, the shoulders should be relaxed, the upper arm lifted this in itself is hard enough – with the elbow in perfect alignment with the shoulder and the wrist strap flat against the man’s bicep. Who knew the human arm had so many parts? Or the hand? But the music starts and there arehundreds other things to remember, it’s easy for your hand to forget it’s graceful task and become a grasping cloth. Pulling the air in search of any solid surface – preferably your instructor. But frustration is what we’re paying for. Frustration is what we all want.
155 about Isabel a high maintenance dancer: Isabel seems to understand that it isn’t necessary to be everyone’s favorite and I would imagine that realization must feel like manacles falling off your ankles.
216 dance instructor tunes off the light to “release”
“You’re afraid to fall, aren’t you?”
Anatole says you need both elements and dance, both passion and technique, both abandon and control, but hardly any personality has room for both. And yet, he says we must keep trying, working to find a balance. “Dances, “he announces in his best James Earl Jones voice, “an art in which everyone will ultimately fail. “.
This one has sharper points on it!
219 I spent the first half of my life thinking that if somebody liked me, it was because I was pretty. I’ll be damned if I spend the last half thinking that people only like me because I’m rich.
267 We review which steps I know in tango and he tells me what which sequence he’ll try to work them in. He reminds me that when we get out on the floor with other dancers all around us, I shouldn’t be surprised if he mixes it up a bit. There isn’t always enough room to move along the clear line of dance. People step in front of you, sometimes by accident, but there are even dancers who deliberately try to cut you off. I have to trust him, he says. He knows how to find the open floor.
“But even if you do not always know where you’re going, “he says, “you must take big steps. “
271 Izvinite- forgive me ( said by Anatoly after the attack 260)
272 and totally does the simplest and gentlest of tangos, leads me almost like a father with a child. He lifts his arm, and I move under it. He steps back as I step forward and for some reason I think of what Quinn said the first day I came into the studio, something about how you have to lose your balance in order to find it. I had no idea what she meant at the time and I still don’t understand it fully, but I know that somehow somewhere a spell is being broken. So many things have been taken from me lately – some of them ripped away with more cruelty than I would have thought possible – and yet I am dancing. I stretch my rib cage and inhale. Let myself become big. The floor beneath my feet feels broad and solid in my story, I believe we are eating differently this time. The prince has come and gone but Cinderella is still at the ball.
+ loved all the dance references!!!
+ trie to life descriptions of living with a loved in hospice and volunteering following the other person’s lead- kind of like dance
+ 50+ year old characters as elegant, strong. Graceful
+ forming family with deep bonds beyond romantic attachments
+ beautiful cover photo of dancers’ feet
Best quote: “you have to lose your balance in order to find it.” 272
1st book “love in mid air” about Elyse & infidelity
Quotes:
13 this is embarrassing but I accidentally stole an apple from the grocery store next-door and I was trying to get back to pay when my phone rang and I looked down and I ended up here. It sounds even stupider when I say it out loud.
Quinn nods Quinn nights again with the same annoying yoga girl exaggerativecalm. So you don’t want to dance?
Well of course I do. Everyone wants to dance. I mean, someday I want to dance but right now I just am trying to pay for my Apple. Coming in here was an accident.
You know, Quinn says tilting her head, I’ve never believed in accidents. So you’re here for the first introductory lesson.
Evidently
15-16 about dance shoes: The higher the heels, the better you’ll move. No really, I swear. It’s like you have to deliberately get yourself off balance before you learned how to balance. I know it doesn’t make any sense, but trust me.
What dance is this – foxtrot? Walls? Or just an elaborate sort of shuffle he’s made up to accommodate a woman clearly old enough to be his grandmother? Yet. Period. There’s a heartbreaking kindness in the way he dances with her. He deliberately reigns himself in, downplaying his youth and strength, and he turns her gently again and again, as if he is showing her off to an imaginary crowd. She is barely moving but he has managed to make her come alive. Everything about the woman is absurd. There are some ears of turquoise on her eyelids and even from a distance I can tell she dipped a shaky finger into a pot and splashed the color on like war paint. Some Grand Am unaware that time has passed by. But this man is completely focused on this woman. He sees her. Most men do not look at aging women. I know this because in the last five years I have begun to fade from the eyes of men. And yet this particular man, young and strong as he is, sees this particular woman. He swirls and bowels and pivots around her, honoring the space she occupies. And when she finally turns back to me, I can see she is radiant with joy.
19 personally I blame Cinderella or maybe Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. Between those two, there isn’t a woman alive in America today who doesn’t think her whole life would be transformed if she could just find the right pair of shoes.
21 Her lawyer friend Elyse: have you ever noticed how when you lose one thing, your mind kind of circles back to everything else you ever lost? You break up with a guy and boom, it’s like all the guys you ever broke up with suddenly pull in the your driveway and get out of the same car. Or you walk into a funeral home and you remember every other time you’ve been there and the next time you know, five funerals are going down at once. You start crying and you don’t even know why, and people say what’s wrong? And you say nothing, but you still keep crying. So I’m just saying that Lewis and Mark might be like losing Daniel all over again.
22 The dance studio. Period. It was so tacky, at least. All silver and blue and sparkly it over the top. It was like you took everything that’s me and created the opposite. I think I’ve gone and done something stupid.
“Well thank God,” Elyse says, “it’s about time.”
101 Dance teacher Quinn: “ you’re in the zone where people learn. When you’re uncomfortable with what you’re doing but not so uncomfortable that you can’t move at all. We call it optimal frustration.”
About Dance: Nick never tells anyone she’s good. I doubt he would even apply the word to the pros, because he knows dance is a slippery summit. So you work on that for a week but by then you lost the foxtrot. And there is always somebody younger, stronger, and prettier nipping at your heels. I suppose that’s what makes dance addictive. Your deer that you’re moving towards something but never quite arriving. The truth is costing all of us different things.
116 it’s scary to think that I might want something that Mike’s money can’t buy any, something that being the pretty girl won’t help me get either. Scary to want something that I can only give myself.
I want this and no one else can give it to me. But, it occurs to me that if you want something that no one else can give you, then no one else can take it away from me either, and there’s a certain comfort in that. I’m going to figure out a way to stand tall and give Nick the sort of frame he’s asking you for.
144 A lot of things become clear to me as I watch the competition, in fact, most because everything nicks ever said is being acted out before my eyes. He’s always telling me to put power in my step from the start. This goes against my natural inclination, and probably everyone’s natural inclination. When some thing is new and you’re uncertain, do you want to keep it controlled and careful, at least until you’re sure you’ve memorized the sequence. Nick won’t let me do that this. He says things like we are go across the room and five steps without telling me what those five steps are going to be. And when I beg him to let me learn the routine before I put in the power, he shakes his head. Power first, then finesse. If you don’t have the energy from the start, then it’s hard to put it in later. By that time you’re proud of the pretty little steps. You don’t want to mess them up or change something it seems to be working and so you stay small and now here before me all over this ballroom I can tell C the truth what he’s been saying. People who started out careful and never figured out how to get bigger. The form is correct. Your timing is accurate. They don’t make any obvious mistakes. They are trying hard not to come in last. But they are actually dancing.
154 in the walls, the shoulders should be relaxed, the upper arm lifted this in itself is hard enough – with the elbow in perfect alignment with the shoulder and the wrist strap flat against the man’s bicep. Who knew the human arm had so many parts? Or the hand? But the music starts and there arehundreds other things to remember, it’s easy for your hand to forget it’s graceful task and become a grasping cloth. Pulling the air in search of any solid surface – preferably your instructor. But frustration is what we’re paying for. Frustration is what we all want.
155 about Isabel a high maintenance dancer: Isabel seems to understand that it isn’t necessary to be everyone’s favorite and I would imagine that realization must feel like manacles falling off your ankles.
216 dance instructor tunes off the light to “release”
“You’re afraid to fall, aren’t you?”
Anatole says you need both elements and dance, both passion and technique, both abandon and control, but hardly any personality has room for both. And yet, he says we must keep trying, working to find a balance. “Dances, “he announces in his best James Earl Jones voice, “an art in which everyone will ultimately fail. “.
This one has sharper points on it!
219 I spent the first half of my life thinking that if somebody liked me, it was because I was pretty. I’ll be damned if I spend the last half thinking that people only like me because I’m rich.
267 We review which steps I know in tango and he tells me what which sequence he’ll try to work them in. He reminds me that when we get out on the floor with other dancers all around us, I shouldn’t be surprised if he mixes it up a bit. There isn’t always enough room to move along the clear line of dance. People step in front of you, sometimes by accident, but there are even dancers who deliberately try to cut you off. I have to trust him, he says. He knows how to find the open floor.
“But even if you do not always know where you’re going, “he says, “you must take big steps. “
271 Izvinite- forgive me ( said by Anatoly after the attack 260)
272 and totally does the simplest and gentlest of tangos, leads me almost like a father with a child. He lifts his arm, and I move under it. He steps back as I step forward and for some reason I think of what Quinn said the first day I came into the studio, something about how you have to lose your balance in order to find it. I had no idea what she meant at the time and I still don’t understand it fully, but I know that somehow somewhere a spell is being broken. So many things have been taken from me lately – some of them ripped away with more cruelty than I would have thought possible – and yet I am dancing. I stretch my rib cage and inhale. Let myself become big. The floor beneath my feet feels broad and solid in my story, I believe we are eating differently this time. The prince has come and gone but Cinderella is still at the ball.
June 12, 2014
Review originally posted:Traveling With T
This book was sent to Traveling With T in exchange for a fair and honest review.
The Unexpected Waltz
When Kelly Wilder becomes a widow, the theme that she hears from the lawyers is “nothing has to change”. Kelly, having been married to a wealthy man, a man who has made arrangements for Kelly to be taken care of- truly, nothing has to change. Kelly could live her life in the beyond comfortable fashion she has been living for the rest of her life.
Except for Kelly… things have to change. She’s tired just doing charity work, of making fancy tablescapes (table decorations) and of not feeling like she’s living. One day, after grocery shopping, Kelly does something she’s never done- shoplifted an apple. In the quest to return to to the store to pay for the apple, she walks in a dance studio. While she does not know it then, that apple led her to a life-changing experience.
When Kelly begins to take ballroom dancing lessons, her life begins to change- she begins to experience life, to feel better about things. After Kelly meets Carolina, a young woman in hospice, she begins to feel even more excited about her life. Carolina helps Kelly see things, that life is what you make of it.
Through dance, Kelly starts thinking about how marrying her husband was a “safe choice” and a reaction to a man who broke her heart. She begins to understand where she settled in life, the parts of life she just accepted- instead of chasing her goals and dreams. By learning to dance, Kelly finds herself.
At the dance studio, Kelly finds a family- she gets close to her dance teacher, Nic and feels a connection with him. She begins to make friends with some of the other dancers and learns to look beyond appearances,
Kelly ponders many things in THE UNEXPECTED WALTZ, the differences between wanting the bad guy and marrying the safe guy; how her life has changed from her younger days and to knowing that while her husband made it possible for life to not change; that going out on a limb and experiencing new things is what she needs.
Traveling With T’s Thoughts:
Kim Wilder’s book, THE UNEXPECTED WALTZ, was a delight. I completely enjoyed the story, found myself invested in Kelly’s life. As Kelly begin to experience life and to admit that there were things about life she did not enjoy, choices she had made that she shouldn’t and times she had settled when she should not have- I enjoyed her musings, the lessons she learned.
The idea of ballroom dancing opening a new world to Kelly is fascinating. The plot, the characters- all made me want to flip the pages faster so I could find out how the book would end for Kelly.
Looking for a book that will give you something to think about after the last page is turned? A read that is light, yet poignant at times? A story that does not end in a predictable way? Then try THE UNEXPECTED WALTZ!
*This book was sent to Traveling With T from Gallery Books in exchange for a fair and honest review. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.
This book was sent to Traveling With T in exchange for a fair and honest review.
The Unexpected Waltz
When Kelly Wilder becomes a widow, the theme that she hears from the lawyers is “nothing has to change”. Kelly, having been married to a wealthy man, a man who has made arrangements for Kelly to be taken care of- truly, nothing has to change. Kelly could live her life in the beyond comfortable fashion she has been living for the rest of her life.
Except for Kelly… things have to change. She’s tired just doing charity work, of making fancy tablescapes (table decorations) and of not feeling like she’s living. One day, after grocery shopping, Kelly does something she’s never done- shoplifted an apple. In the quest to return to to the store to pay for the apple, she walks in a dance studio. While she does not know it then, that apple led her to a life-changing experience.
When Kelly begins to take ballroom dancing lessons, her life begins to change- she begins to experience life, to feel better about things. After Kelly meets Carolina, a young woman in hospice, she begins to feel even more excited about her life. Carolina helps Kelly see things, that life is what you make of it.
Through dance, Kelly starts thinking about how marrying her husband was a “safe choice” and a reaction to a man who broke her heart. She begins to understand where she settled in life, the parts of life she just accepted- instead of chasing her goals and dreams. By learning to dance, Kelly finds herself.
At the dance studio, Kelly finds a family- she gets close to her dance teacher, Nic and feels a connection with him. She begins to make friends with some of the other dancers and learns to look beyond appearances,
Kelly ponders many things in THE UNEXPECTED WALTZ, the differences between wanting the bad guy and marrying the safe guy; how her life has changed from her younger days and to knowing that while her husband made it possible for life to not change; that going out on a limb and experiencing new things is what she needs.
Traveling With T’s Thoughts:
Kim Wilder’s book, THE UNEXPECTED WALTZ, was a delight. I completely enjoyed the story, found myself invested in Kelly’s life. As Kelly begin to experience life and to admit that there were things about life she did not enjoy, choices she had made that she shouldn’t and times she had settled when she should not have- I enjoyed her musings, the lessons she learned.
The idea of ballroom dancing opening a new world to Kelly is fascinating. The plot, the characters- all made me want to flip the pages faster so I could find out how the book would end for Kelly.
Looking for a book that will give you something to think about after the last page is turned? A read that is light, yet poignant at times? A story that does not end in a predictable way? Then try THE UNEXPECTED WALTZ!
*This book was sent to Traveling With T from Gallery Books in exchange for a fair and honest review. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.
June 12, 2014
The waltz may be unexpected, but its arrival is well-prepared in this shadow novel of “Shall We Dance,” “Strictly Ballroom” and, most recently, “Silver Lining Playbook.” In one way or another they are all about competitive ballroom dancing. In this case, a recent widow from a May-December marriage inherits tons of money from Matt, her dearly departed, and decides to take up ballroom dancing. Waltz, tango, foxtrot—you know the list—and she slowly masters them all. She has a bit more trouble mastering two Russians, Nik and the owner of the studio, Anatoly. With the help of her best friend, Elyse, and the encouragement of her dying friend, Carolina, who is her patient in hospice, Kelly Madison soldiers on. Since the author is a devout ballroom dancing fanatic, the details sound convincing and the step-by-step reconstruction of each dance is interesting, but we all know where this is headed. There has to be some sort of validating competition that Kelly can enter to reward her for her hard work. Just as the competition is being set up Wright lets her plotting get away from her and we dive pell-mell into a melodramatic ending that left this reader with a bad taste in his mouth. It looked and read like an ending that was on a post-it note on some master plotting drawing board and was chosen in desperation to find an ending. With all the potential romance set up as well as a dying friend, rivalries within the troupe and the setting of widows and divorcees vying for attention from the two Russians, there were plenty of choices and, for my eyes, Wright picked wrong. This is not exactly chick-lit, but comes very close and it could have been much more. Appropriate for the forgetful months of summer and the beach.
February 24, 2020
This book about a middle-aged woman having to move-on after a loss spoke to me. Her evaluation of her prior relationships, friends and herself as she struggles with being afraid of change and desperately wanting to move beyond the box in which she has lived her life were poignant and realistic. When Kelly stumbles into a dance studio and signs up for a complimentary first lesson, she has no idea how significantly it will change her life. Her endeavors in the dance classes give her the confidence to make other changes in her life, and the wealth she has inherited from her late husband allow her to impact others' lives as well.
Kelly learns that her romanticizing and perceptions of friends' and acquaintances' lives are not usually valid. With the exception of her extreme wealth, there is nothing perfect in Kelly's life. Through her musings, the reader sees all the little things that she settled for, accepted, put up with and rebelled against that really make up her life. Her life is not the picture-perfect tablescapes she creates for the various charitable functions she helps put on or the nice home she has provided her wealthy, older (now late) husband.
The characters are fully developed, and the story is well paced like the balance the dancers strive for in their ballroom competitions. The descriptions of the various dances are poetic as is the way the author uses the various to describe different feelings/sentiments. A delight to read.
Kelly learns that her romanticizing and perceptions of friends' and acquaintances' lives are not usually valid. With the exception of her extreme wealth, there is nothing perfect in Kelly's life. Through her musings, the reader sees all the little things that she settled for, accepted, put up with and rebelled against that really make up her life. Her life is not the picture-perfect tablescapes she creates for the various charitable functions she helps put on or the nice home she has provided her wealthy, older (now late) husband.
The characters are fully developed, and the story is well paced like the balance the dancers strive for in their ballroom competitions. The descriptions of the various dances are poetic as is the way the author uses the various to describe different feelings/sentiments. A delight to read.
September 23, 2014
This is my first Kim Wright book. I just thought I would give her a try . I listened to this book on CD and I am glad I did. At first , I thought well if you are a fan of 'Dancing With the Stars' on TV you will like this story. Then I kept listening...hum, I do seek pearls of wisdom in all books I read. I heard, " need attention, crave attention", to describe some women. I heard, " Men like women who make trouble.", and " A man either cheats or he doesn't"...a decision a man makes in his own head. The main character is 52 years of age and a new widow. She fortunately is rich and she also has a talent for ball room dancing. Plus , this story takes place in Charlotte , N.C....
recently claimed as the #1 city to live.
I would take this book on vacation...find my spot on the beach in Cancun, Mexico...Fiesta Americana Hotel, order my favorite drink , sip, and smile as I listen to this story.
I also noted, a famous movie , 'Suddenly Last Summer', a Tennessee Willams gem, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Cliff, 1959. I must see this movie again. Plus , I am a Beatle Fan...and I have already played, 'Norwegian Wood ( This Bird Has Flown)' 1965 & cried.
recently claimed as the #1 city to live.
I would take this book on vacation...find my spot on the beach in Cancun, Mexico...Fiesta Americana Hotel, order my favorite drink , sip, and smile as I listen to this story.
I also noted, a famous movie , 'Suddenly Last Summer', a Tennessee Willams gem, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Cliff, 1959. I must see this movie again. Plus , I am a Beatle Fan...and I have already played, 'Norwegian Wood ( This Bird Has Flown)' 1965 & cried.
May 23, 2015
I was happily surprised with this book. I was somewhat worried that since the main character was quite a lot older than me that I would not find her relatable or interesting....boy was I wrong! Kelly is extremely interesting and when she would talk about her days as a teenager and young adult I would find myself thinking, "Wow that is exactly how it is!" or "Been there done that!". Wright has successfully created a character that is mature, intelligent, and witty. There was not a single part in this book where I felt the plot falling flat. Kelly was always revealing some tidbit of interesting information. Wright also created a group of characters that were just so natural and likeable. I never felt that any of the characters were too fake. I was very, VERY impressed with this book and I hope that there will be a sequel with the return of Nik.....
I received this book free from a book giveaway so I would like to thank The Life of a Book Addict for hosting the giveaway and Kim Wright for being kind enough to allow us to do this and take part in the discussion with us!
I received this book free from a book giveaway so I would like to thank The Life of a Book Addict for hosting the giveaway and Kim Wright for being kind enough to allow us to do this and take part in the discussion with us!
September 18, 2014
Talk about "unexpected", I don't even watch "Dancing with the Stars". However, I found this story of a middle-aged widow who falls in love with ballroom dancing to be an absolutely charming and engaging piece of entertainment. It is not trite or cliched, but refreshing and well-written. Bravo!
September 30, 2018
Somewhat boring. It's nice that a widowed woman tries to get back into life by taking dance classes but it's an idea that's been done to death. And to be honest, it's really hard to sympathize with a woman who has been married for years with no drama and who has been left rolling in money.
May 15, 2019
I enjoyed the dancing in the book because it reflects a lot of truth of ballroom dancing, but nothing much happens in the book. I didn’t think the main character really had much to overcome or had to struggle that much.
August 3, 2014
Excellent follow-up to Love in Mid Air. I loved this one!
December 10, 2014
Not too bad of a story but the beginning is a bit slow.
February 16, 2016
I liked it because of the dancing but other than that nothing grabbed me. Didn't believe the "examination " of her past or her present.
December 20, 2017
I didn't find everything about this novel a 4 star read, but overall I enjoyed it very much.
A middle-aged, widowed, and wealthy woman accidentally stumbles into a ballroom dancing studio in a shopping center. Here she begins to find something that matters, and a circle of unexpected friends.
It sounds cheesy in the description, but this was my favorite part of the novel, and the reason I decided to read it. Because the author herself participates in ballroom dancing and amateur competition, it is an authentic look at this world, and definitely enhanced by long time viewing of Dancing with the Stars.
Less interesting was the main character's reminiscing over an ill-fated adulterous relationship in her past, and her sexual hangups. Other side plots were her work with hospice, and a long time friendship with a more adventurous woman and that woman's daughter.
The book definitely needed more than the dancing scenes, and as fiction it required personal issues that could be worked out through dance, but there was just too much packed in here.
Still, I would recommend it to readers who like the idea of a novel about ballroom dancing and life inside the studio.
A middle-aged, widowed, and wealthy woman accidentally stumbles into a ballroom dancing studio in a shopping center. Here she begins to find something that matters, and a circle of unexpected friends.
It sounds cheesy in the description, but this was my favorite part of the novel, and the reason I decided to read it. Because the author herself participates in ballroom dancing and amateur competition, it is an authentic look at this world, and definitely enhanced by long time viewing of Dancing with the Stars.
Less interesting was the main character's reminiscing over an ill-fated adulterous relationship in her past, and her sexual hangups. Other side plots were her work with hospice, and a long time friendship with a more adventurous woman and that woman's daughter.
The book definitely needed more than the dancing scenes, and as fiction it required personal issues that could be worked out through dance, but there was just too much packed in here.
Still, I would recommend it to readers who like the idea of a novel about ballroom dancing and life inside the studio.
September 9, 2023
Kelly has recently become a widow and she is trying to figure out what to do with her life. Her husband has left her with plenty of funds, but she is dissatisfied with the charity work and people she has been associating with in general, with the exception of her hospice work. On a whim, she enters a dance studio and takes an introductory lesson. She finds herself becoming fascinated with the discipline and with the people associated with the studio, from the students to the Russian immigrant instructors. She shares this with the hospice patient she is paired with, and she pushes Kelly to live her life.There is drama and romance going on behind the scenes, and as Kelly prepares for the dance competition, the drama escalates into a dangerous situation that threatens to change everything
August 18, 2017
When I began this book I was not sure that I would be able to finish it. A book about learning how to dance. How interesting could it be?
Surprisingly enough, I enjoyed it!
Maybe it was because of the nature of the business itself. Perhaps because of the character interactions. Or I might have simply been drawn to the notion that learning to dance (at any season of life), if approached with passion, can become a work of transformation.
Whatever the case, I would recommended this sedate book to anyone who has the time to read it thoughtfully.
For me (personally) it proved to be a pleasant surprise.
Surprisingly enough, I enjoyed it!
Maybe it was because of the nature of the business itself. Perhaps because of the character interactions. Or I might have simply been drawn to the notion that learning to dance (at any season of life), if approached with passion, can become a work of transformation.
Whatever the case, I would recommended this sedate book to anyone who has the time to read it thoughtfully.
For me (personally) it proved to be a pleasant surprise.
January 8, 2021
I enjoyed the book because I like dancing (not that I do any of it!). It moved along, slowly, but mostly kept my interest. I asked the question about what happened to Pamela though. The ending didn't tell us and no one seemed to care. (or did I miss something?)
I did find it odd that Kelly is so rich that she can do anything or go anywhere but she spends all of her time dancing.
The whole secondary story line about Caroline/hospice is unnerving as it doesn't add to the story or give any depth to the main character.
Good, quick read with some quirky and interesting characters.
I did find it odd that Kelly is so rich that she can do anything or go anywhere but she spends all of her time dancing.
The whole secondary story line about Caroline/hospice is unnerving as it doesn't add to the story or give any depth to the main character.
Good, quick read with some quirky and interesting characters.
September 7, 2022
For a book that claims to be about "a woman in her 50s who discovered her artistic potential in dancing", this book sure did not talk enough about the mentioned woman's talent in dance, she's just constantly making sloppy turns and miscalculated steps all along the book. And despite the title being "An Unexpected Waltz", the woman was dancing cha cha more than she did waltz. In overall, a disappointing read.
July 23, 2024
For me this book started out slow, the story didn't grip me until almost half way through. The dance side of the story I could relate to having been on the amateur competition ballroom scene; after a deep breath hold your head high while being led onto the dance floor wearing a star studded dress, made up to the nines. As you prepare your frame and posture waiting for that first beat nothing else invades your mind for almost 2 minutes!
March 3, 2024
It really took me awhile to get into this book. Nothing really exciting happened, but eventually I just enjoyed the characters; especially Kelly. It was good to see her grow and change and come to discover who she really was and to find happiness apart from the stereotypical role she had worked herself into.
May 7, 2017
What a lovely story. I stumbled upon this book and am so glad I did. Kelly's path to a new life is filled with new people and experiences. I particularly liked her commitment to hospice. This is a terrific book that reminded me why I love to read.
June 5, 2017
Friendship. Love. Loss. Settling for less. Affairs. Mistakes repeated. Discovery. Suspense. Self-assessment. Growth. This book had it all. The ending surprised me. Most of all, it made me want to hold my valued friendships close - and made me wish I could dance.
March 23, 2019
Loving this author! Such an interesting tale with the ballroom dance storyline and her metaphors are well done and memorable! Kim Wright is {almost} my age and so her character’s life experiences and cultural influences ring true to me.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 197 reviews